Saturday, December 12, 2020

Citing 14th Amendment, U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell Says the 126 GOP House Members Seeking to Overturn the Election Should Not Be Seated in Congress

 


"The text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."

Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell on Friday charged that some of his Republican colleagues shouldn't be sworn in for the next session of Congress, accusing them of violating the U.S. Constitution and attempting to "demolish democracy" by backing President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the November election, which he lost to President-elect Joe Biden.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the Committee on House Administration, the New Jersey congressman specifically condemned the more than 100 House Republicans who are supported a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that aimed to block the four key battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—all of which Biden won—from voting in the Electoral College.

Pascrell cites Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, which gives each chamber of Congress final authority over membership, as well as Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which says:

No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of president and vice president, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

"Stated simply, men and women who would act to tear the United States government apart cannot serve as members of the Congress," writes the longtime Trump critic.

"These lawsuits seeking to obliterate public confidence in our democratic system by invalidating the clear results of the 2020 presidential election attack the text and spirit of the Constitution, which each member swears to support and defend, as well as violate the rules of our House of Representatives, which explicitly forbid members from committing unbecoming acts that reflect poorly on our chamber," he adds.

Pascrell urges Pelosi and Lofgren to exercise their power to figure how they can respond to these alleged constitutional violations and, if possible, refuse to seat incoming members who, in his words, are "seeking to make Donald Trump an unelected dictator."

Their actions "must be repudiated in the strongest possible terms," he argues. "The moment we face now may be without parallel since 1860. The fate of our democracy depends on us meeting that moment."

The congressman was far from alone in condemning the behavior of GOP officials who have rallied around Paxton's long-shot lawsuit and other legal challenges to Biden's decisive victory. Earlier Friday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also slammed supporters of Trump's attempt to sow doubt about the security of the election.

"House Republicans are spending critical time when people are starving and small businesses are shuttering trying to overturn the results of our election," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, "but please tell us more about how 'both sides are just as bad.'"

Fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said Thursday that "they are attempting a coup in broad daylight, and it should not be treated as anything less."

by Jessica Corbett for Common Dreams


Here are their treasonous names:

Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Ralph Abraham of Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Rick W. Allen of Georgia’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. James R. Baird of Indiana’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District

Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Michael C. Burgess of Texas’s 26th Congressional District

Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Ken Calvert of California’s 42nd Congressional District

Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas’s 27th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas’s 11th Congressional District

Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida’s 25th Congressional District

Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Neal P. Dunn of Florida’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Drew Ferguson of Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Bill Flores of Texas’s 17th Congressional District

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Greg Gianforte of Montana’s at-large congressional district

Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. John Joyce of Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District

Rep. Fred Keller of Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District

Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Steve King of Iowa’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Darin LaHood of Illinois’s 18th Congressional District

Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Robert E. Latta of Ohio’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas’s 24th Congressional District

Rep. Roger Marshall of Kansas’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Tom McClintock of California’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Carol D. Miller of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Alex X. Mooney of West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Gregory Murphy of North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District

Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. John Rose of Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. David Rouzer of North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. John Rutherford of Florida’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Ross Spano of Florida’s 15th Congressional District

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York’s 21st Congressional District

Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District

Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. William Timmons of South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Randy Weber of Texas’s 14th Congressional District

Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida’s 11th Congressional District

Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Roger Williams of Texas’s 25th Congressional District

Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Ron Wright of Texas’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Ted S. Yoho of Florida’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California’s 23rd Congressional District

Rep. Robert Aderholt of Alabama’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas’s 19th Congressional District

Rep. Brian Babin of Texas’s 36th Congressional District

Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District

Rep. Billy Long of Missouri’s 7th Congressional District

Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia’s 11th Congressional District

Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Bill Posey of Florida’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. W. Gregory Steube of Florida’s 17th Congressional District

Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District

(published in Buzzfeed)

 


1 comment:

  1. “I actually think that we’re trending toward secession. I see more and more people asking what in the world do we have in common with the people who live in, say, New York? What is there that makes us believe that there is enough of us there to even have a chance at winning New York? Especially if you’re talking about votes.

    “I see a lot of bloggers — I can’t think of names right now — a lot of bloggers have written extensively about how distant and separated and how much more separated our culture is becoming politically and that it can’t go on this way. There cannot be a peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs. We can’t be in this dire a conflict without something giving somewhere along the way.

    “And I know that there’s a sizable and growing sentiment for people who believe that that is where we’re headed, whether we want to or not — whether we want to go there or not. I myself haven’t made up my mind. I still haven’t given up the idea that we are the majority and that all we have to do is find a way to unite and win, and our problem is the fact that there are just so many RINOs, so many Republicans in the Washington establishment who will do anything to maintain their membership in the establishment because of the perks and the opportunities that are presented for their kids and so forth”—Rush Limbaugh, December 9.

    (Patheos).

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